HicMel takes the arrow In the front
by FRANK MANKIEWICZ
and TOM BR ADEN
The first time Walter J. Hickel ap
peared before a national audience was
in Miami Beach, at the Republican con
vention of 1968. Director of Communica
.tions Herbert Klein, then Richard Nix
on's press secretary (Presidents have
directors of communications; candidates
have press secretaries), trotted him out
in Spiro Agnew's phrase.
The convention being rather dull, Klein
. brought forth one governor every morn
ing and another every afternoon to an
nounce bis support for candidate Nixon.
All of them, of course, had previously
done so, ' and it afforded no surprises,
but it was the only news in town, and
Klein knew it.
Hickel seemed uncomfortable that day,
re-celebrating his loyalty to Mr. Nixon,
and it was a harbinger of the future.
He was always uncomfortable re
celebrating his loyalty but that seems
to be what this Administration is about.
In the absence of program, all that's
left is hail to the chief. It finally undid
Secretary Hickel, who angered the hard
eyed office managers who surround the
President becoming "controversial."
The lesson taught by nickel's political
demise is not lost on other Administra
tion stalwarts. By the time this appears
in print, Mr. Nixon may have named
a new 'Republican national chairman,
and it Is no accident that Donald
Rumsfeld, the director of the Office of
Economic Opportunity, the antipoverty
agency, is a prominent candidate.
Rumsfeld, who fired the top two men
in the Legal Services program the ,
only really effective OEO activity
last week, is a White House counselor '
in addition to his antipoverty duties.
His predecessor, R. Sargent Shriver,
headed the OEO and had Cabinet rank
under Lyndon Johnson. But L.B.J.
regularly scorned Shriver and on one
celebrated occasion had GOP Senate
leader Everett Dirksen announce a
presidential desire to cut 0 E 0 ' s
budget.
Rumsfeld, however, Is in good political
standing, and it goes far to explain
the firing of Terry Lenzner, the ag
gressive former Harvard football captain
who made the Legal Services program
uch a successful Instrument of the poor
and obtained for It at the same time
the wholehearted support of the largely
conservative organized bar.
At OEO, Rumsfeld supported Lenzner
and his activist lawyers. When Ronald
Reagan tried to veto a legal program
because it exposed the Illegality of his
attempts to cut off welfare recipients
and had antagonized the big agricultural
growers in behalf of migrant farm
workers, Rumsftld overrode Reagan's
veto.
When Sen. Gordon AlkU of Colorado
objected to the activities in his state
of Legal Services lawyers in behalf of
migrant farmers, Rumsfeld supported
the program. But when the Mississippi
Republican chairman, Clark Reed, who
is also the real Republican honcho for
the South, complained, Rumsfeld
refunded the Mississippi program, after
a long delay, but then took evasive
action.
Reed's complaint was serious not
because it had any more validity than
any of the others but because Reed
was an important politician at the White
House. Rumsfeld told Lenzner it was
a complaint with which OEO Legal
Services "had to deal."
Lenzner, who never saw himself as
part of the Nixon team, thought political
complaints could be ignored if the job
was done well.
Rumsfeld knew better. He picked up
Reed's proposal to "regionalize" Legal
Services, which Reed saw as an effective
way to put Legal Services decisions
under political appointees who were on
the Nixon team.
Rumsfeld may have seen it as a
necessary political maneuver, but
Lenzner saw It as a threat. So did
the American Bar Assn., which Is less
concerned, in the last analysis, with
Republican political success than it is
with keeping nonlawyers from practicing
law.
Rumsfeld backed down on the Reed
proposal for "regionalizing" but in
stituted some bureaucratic guidelines to
accomplish the same thing. Lenzner
protested and was fired. Now he and
Hickel both understand that at least
the appearance of politics comes first.
If the Legal Services program survives,
Rumsfeld may have discovered the
magic formula.
Stock reply
Dear Editor,
Gary Seacrest seems to Im
ply, in his analysis of CUE and
the Regents, that CUE consists
of malcontents causing trouble
on a campus now serene,
pacific, and concerned only
with discussing football. This
Imputation is in my view quite
unfair. ,
If In fact public funds have
been incorrectly or unwisely
managed, then this is a matter
of permanent concern. CUE, as
I understand it, does not intend
maliciously to embarrass
anyone either in student
government or administration,
but it would like to establish
safeguards against such fiscal
mismanagement (if that is
what it proves to be) occurring
again.
Moreover, so long as ASUN
retains its ties with the radical
NSA, and is potentially able
again to stray beyond what
many believe to be its proper
functions, then this too Is a
matter of permanent concern.
Surely It Is better to discuss
these Issues in a time of quiet
than in a time of crisis.
Considering what has hap
pened and is happening on
other campuses, it does not
seem to me "trouble making"
to consider dispassionately how
we may preserve order,
responsibility, and political
impartiality at Nebraska.
Sen. Batchelder's solution is
in my opinion Immoderate. As I
am sure he would admit, he
was speaking for himself and
not necessarily for any
members of CUE. However,
solutions are needed - the
events of last May have not
been evaporated by Mr.
Seacrest's sunny attitude. And
so far as I can see, CUE is the
only organization around
presently offering any. Before
its members are branded
spoilers and malcontents, I
should like to see other groups
suggest equally intelligent and
temperate remedies.
After all, it is really too
depressing to see the Left
defending the status quo, while
the conservative student (and
some In CUE would repudiate
that label) is forced to assume
Letters
the most disagreeable and
vulgar of roles, that of
dissenter.
R. D. Stock,
Assistant Professor of Englisn
Alternative to Ralphie
Dear Editor,
I have a modest proposal for
those who have written to
complain about the Husker
football team's lack of "image"
with the nationwide media.
Viewers of the Colorado
game will recall that Colorado
required about half a second to
establish a positive, hard
charging and memorable
"image." When Ralphie The
Pregnant Buffalo thundered out
onto the field, scattering
handlers and students, she at
tracted every camera in the
stadium. While I would admit
that the Husker mascot, the
Big Red Oaf, is more
memorable than the old Ear Of
Corn, I don't recall seeing
much of him on TV.
I suggest that the University
Pep Squad begin phasing out
the present mascot, starting at
the Orange Bowl, In favor of a
big, red Irish setter (or two).
Such a coup would Ineradlcably
establish the Buskers' image as
"The" Big Red before the na
tionwide audience, over
pretenders such as Oklahoma
and Cornell.
Even though an Irish setter
would be a big improvement,
perhaps someone else has an
even better idea. Say, a live big
red elephant, a stuffed big red
whale, an inflatable big red
baluchitherium, or whatever.
Ned Nolte
The girls in the baritl
Dear Editor,
' We, the women of the
Nebraska University bands,
wish it known that we do not
support Ton! Hilliard or the
Women's Action Group in their
crusade against the marching
band. We do so for the follow
ing reasons:
1. Miss Hilliard has never
tried out . for the University
band, and has never even
checked to find the number of
us interested in marching
outside.
2. Miss Hilliard is evidently
not aware that the marching
band practices outside
regularly in cold, rainy, and
snowy weather. This is not true
of most of the co-ed high school
bands she points out.
Though we do not all agree
individually on whether or not
to march outside, we are
unanimous Id feeling that any
change in the band structure
should properly come from
those it coucerns, and those
who will have to work under
these changes: the members of
the University bands.
Miss Hilliard- may be
presenting her cause to the
Faculty Senate, but it is not
ours.
32 Women of the
Nebraska University Bands
Rule, Britannia
Dear Editor:
As. strife increases in this
country tt becomes evident that
we need a new approach to
"the American Way." Such an
approach has recently been
suggested by Fenton DeSade,
presidential nominee of the
New ArchConservative Par
ty. DeSade's plan Is Simple. In
essence, he advocates an end to
civil strife through the in
tervention of an outside party,
namely England.
His plan calls for the return
of the colonies to that power.
This would have far reaching,
but I think important, ef
fects. With an outside power to deal
with our own civil strife, we
good Americans could concern
ourselves with more important
things. We could, for instance,
claim cruel treatment and lack
of representation by the British
government
After a time we could hold a
revolution. Ii would be a grand
social event and I'm sure
everyone would want to come.
Then everyone would be hap
py. Those who want a revolution
would be happy. Those who
want to defend the "American
Way" would be happy. Those
who want to fight Communism
or "creeping socialism" would
be happy.
The program has many
merits. I would urge its con
sideration. Sincerely,
Schadracque Bushido
THURSDAY, .DECEMBER 3, 1970
THE NEBRASKAN
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